Automatic brake for railway-vehicles.



- .P-ATBN;TED SEPT. 29, 1903.

E. L. GRIDGE.

AUTOMATIC BRAKE FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES.

Arrpmur ou FILED nov. 4, 1992.

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' INVENTOR WITNESSES;

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UNITED STAT S Patented September 29, 1903.

PATENT' OFFI E.

. EDMUND LOMAX oRIDcn, or PAss'AIo, NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC BRAKE FOR RAILWAY- -VE'HICL'ES.

fiPEUIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,246, datedSeptember 29, 1903. Application filedNovember i, 1902. sesame. 130.056.cum n.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND LOMAX GRIDGE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Passaic, in the county of Pas'saic and State of NewJersey, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Brake forRailway-Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, andexactdescription.

My invention relates to an automatic brake forrailway-vehicles, a moreparticular object being to devise means for automatically venting theair-brake of a locomotive, thereby causing the mechanical brakes to beapplied in case the engineer disregards a semaphore-signal. V

I will describe an automatic brake for railway vehicles embodying myinvention and then point out the novel features in the appended ciaims.

Reference is to be'had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similarcharacters elf-reference indi 1 alsoengages'the web l2,. so as to normally .drawthe plunger downward.The'lower porcate corresponding part'si'n all the figures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation. showing my invention asapplied to a loco motive. Fig.72 is a central section, somewhatenlarged, showing the valve mechanism. Fig. 3is a somewhat similar viewtaken at right anglesto Fig. 2. Fig. i is a horizontal section'upontheline' i l of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the" arrow. Fig. 5 is ahorizontal section upon the line 5 5 of Figs 3 looking in the directionof the arrow.

Upon a post 1, stationed at a point adja-' cent to the railway-track, isa movable semaphore arm 2, connected with the post by;

means of a pivot 3. A pitman 4 is connected with the semaphore-arm formoving the same into different relative positions indicating,respectively, safety and danger. A boss 5 is mounted upon thesemaphore-arm for the purpose of tripping the valve mechanismhereinafter described. A series of levers 6, which may be actuated bythe aid of any mechanical device, is provided for the purpose of settingthe semaphore-arm 2 into its difierent' predetermined" positions bymeans of the pitman 4.

Upon a locomotive 7 is mounted a pipe 8, to be connected with atrain-pipe or with some analogous pipe connected with the air=brake insuch manner that when the pipe 8 is vented the brakes are applied. Thismuch of the mechanism being old, no description of it appears to benecessary. 7

A casing'9 communicates with thepipe S and is made in two portionsscrewed together at 10, as indicatedin Figs. 2and 3. The upper portionis provided with a web 10, preferably integral therewith, this web beingprovided with a conical opening 11, constituting a valve-seat. Anotherweb, 12, at the bottom of the upper portion of.the casing, is providedwith passages 13. The base of the lower portion of the casing 9 isprovided with passages 14, as indicated'more particularly in Figs. 2 and3. w

A longitudinal plunger 15 .is ,slidably mounted within theweb 12 and.is, provided with' channels l3 and with ai'frusto-conical head 16,constituting a valve which 'fits the 'valve seat 11.

The lower. portion of the plunger 15 is provided. with a collar 17,which is engaged by a spiral spring 18. This spring .23,;s upporting thepivot 24, upon which is mounted a lever 25, provided with cam-lobes 26and so arranged that the tripping of the lever, as indicated in Fig. 3,causes one of the lobes 26 to elevate the plunger 15.

A drip-valve 27 is provided with a thumbpiece 28 for the purpose ofremoving any moisture which may lodge within the casing.

The operation of my device is as follows:

When the semaphore-arm is placed in the position indicated in Fig. l,the boss 15 partially obstructs the path of the lever 25 and the forwardmotion of the engine causes the lever 25 to encounter the boss, beingtripped thereby, as indicated in Fig. 3. This causes the elevation ofthe plunger-15 and lifts the valve 16 from its seat 11, thereby allowingIce the air from the pipe 8 to escape around the valve 16 and throughthe channels 13, making its exit through the passages 13 and 14, thusapplying the brakes. The tension of the spring 22 causes the head 21 ofthe pin 19 to enter the groove 18, thereby maintaining the plunger inits uppermost position and holding the valve open, so that the traincannot proceed until the handle 20 is withdrawn, so as to allow thevalve 16 to engage its seat. The idea is that the engineer should heedthe semaphore-signal; but if it should happen that he does not do so thetrain will be automatically stopped and cannot proceed until the handle20 is adjusted, which of course implies that the trainmen must havenotice of the condition of the signal before the-train can proceed. Thespring 18 is not necessary in all instances, but is desirable for thereason that it presses the valve firmly upon its seat and keeps the sameclosed regardless of the air-pressure. When the arm 2 is raised,indicating safety, the lever 25 cannot be brought into engagement withthe boss 5.

It will be noted that the semaphore-arm engages directly with thetrip-lever 25, so that no intermediate mechanism is necessary. Thesetting of the semaphore-arm is per se the setting of the automaticbrake mechanism.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. An automatic brake for railway-vehicles,comprising a hollow casing mounted upon a locomotive and connected withthe train-pipe thereof, said hollow casing being provided with avalve-seat, a movable valve mounted within said hollow casing and freeto engage said seat, a cam-lever mounted upon said hollow casing andprovided with a lobe engaging said movable valve, locking mechanism fortemporarily maintaining said valve out of contact with said seat, andmeans disposed adjacent to the railway-track for automatically trippingsaid lever.

2. An automatic brake for railway-vehicles, comprising a hollow casingmounted upon a locomotive and connected with the train-pipe thereof,said casing being provided with a valve-seat, a longitudinal plungermounted within said casing and free to slide in the general direction ofitslength, said plunger being provided with a valve engaging said seat,a lever for actuating said plunger in the general direction of itslength, thereby raising said valve from said seat, mechanism disposedadjacent to the track for automatically tripping said lever, aspring-pin for temporarily holding the plunger in the position itassumes when said lever is tripped, and means, controllable at will, foradjusting said springpin.

3. An automatic brake for railway-vehicles, comprising a hollow casingmounted upon a locomotive and connected with the train-pipe thereof,said casing being provided with a valve-seat, a plunger mounted withinsaid casing and provided with a valve engaging said seat, and acam-lever provided with a lobe engaging said plunger.

4. An automatic brake for railway-vehicles, comprising a hollow casingmounted upon a locomotive and connected with the train-pipe thereof,said casing being provided with a valve-seat, a plunger mounted withinsaid casing and provided with a valve engaging said seat, a cam-leverprovided with a lobe engaging said plunger, and means for normallypressing said valve-seat into a certain position, thereby closing saidvalve and maintaining said lever in position to engage a sta- ,tionarypin.

5. Anautomaticbrake forrailway-ve'nicles, comprising a hollow casingmounted upon a locomotive and connected with the train-pipe thereof,said casing being provided with a valve-seat, a plunger mounted withinsaid casing and provided with a valve engaging said seat, a cam-leverprovided with a lobe directly engaging said plunger, and a movablesemaphore-arm disposed adjacent to the railway-track and provided with aportion adapted for use as a signal and with a boss for trippingsaidlever.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDMUND LOMAX GRIDGE.

Witnesses:

G. O. CoBEE, CHARLES G. YATES.

